Anyone my age or older surely knows about the iconic 1960’s movie “Easy Rider.”
Written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, and produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper the movie was released to great critical acclaim in 1969.
A landmark counterculture film and a “touchstone for a generation that captured the national imagination“, “Easy Rider” explored the societal landscape, issues, and tensions in the United States during the 1960s, such as the rise and fall of the hippie movement, drug use, and communal lifestyle.
The movie’s two main characters are Wyatt, or “Captain America,” played by Fonda and “Billy the Kid,” played by Hopper, with Wyatt symbolizing the American spirit and Billy the American frontier. The movie concludes with Billy – the American frontier – dying at the side of the road as the result of a shotgun blast from a couple of rednecks and Wyatt – the American spirit – presumably being killed. We never know for sure as all we see at the end of the movie is his bike burning in the middle of the deserted road.
As iconic as that moment is in movie history, there is another scene that always stuck with me – that of Jack Nicholson playing George Hanson, an ACLU lawyer and the town drunk. In the movie he meets Billy and Wyatt in jail and decides to go on the road with them.
To simplify this, I am going to quote Wikipedia who offers a great synopsis:
While attempting to eat in a small rural Louisiana restaurant, the trio’s appearance immediately attracts the attention of the locals. The girls in the restaurant want to meet the men and ride with them, but the local men and police officer make mocking, racist, and homophobic remarks. One of the men menacingly states, “I don’t believe they’ll make the parish line.” As the waitress does not take their order Wyatt, Billy, and George leave without eating and make camp outside of town. The events of the day cause George to comment: “This used to be a hell of a good country. I can’t understand what’s gone wrong with it.” He observes that Americans talk a lot about the value of freedom, but are actually afraid of anyone who truly exhibits it.
In the middle of the night, the local men find the trio asleep and brutally assault them with clubs. Billy manages to scare off the attackers by yelling and brandishing a knife. Wyatt and Billy suffer minor injuries, but George has been fatally beaten. Wyatt and Billy wrap George’s body up in his sleeping bag, gather his belongings, and vow to return the items to his parents.
You can watch Nicholson’s campfire speech about freedom in the clip, below, with a h/t to our goof friends at Being Liberal for finding the clip for me.
And here’s one more clip for you to enjoy – this one of Nicholson having his first shot of Jim Beam of the day:
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